282 Mr. E. Straker on changes in the Aspect 



give some idea of how much land was arable and woodland 



respectively. 



From an examination of typical parishes in the Hundreds 

 of Wallington and Tandridge, I have been able to get some 

 rough approximation of the amount of land in arable, common, 

 and wood. The plough-land is taken by most writers at 120 

 acres, more or less according to the soil, about an equal quantity 

 of meadow and waste would be required for the grazing of the 

 oxen, and to provide hay to keep them through the winter. This 

 leaves about 25 acres of woodland for each hog yielded, which 

 may have been every seventh or tenth hog, or some such pro- 

 portion. If we work this out it comes very near the present 

 acreage of the parishes, for example, Croydon : — 



20 plough-lands at 120 a. = 2400 arable. 



Equal waste =2400 grazing land. 



200 swine at 25 a. = 5000 woodland. 



9800, present area, 9901. 



Coulsdon (two manors in Domesday) : — 

 18 plough-lands at 120 a.=2160, arable in 1840, 2600 



Equal waste =2160, grazing land in 1840, 1575 



9 swine at 25 a. = 225, woodland in 1840, 200 



orchard and gardens, 28 



4545 4403 



Beddington (two manors in Domesday) : — 



12 plough-lands at 120 a.= 1440 arable. 



1 1440 grazing, &c. 



10 swine at 25 a. 250 



3130, present, 3128. 



Of course, other parishes do not all work out so well as these, 

 but the general inference I draw is this, that the parishes on the 

 chalk have not changed their aspect to any very material extent 

 during these 800 years, especially if we allow for the many 

 enclosures made during this century ; while those of the forest 

 belts north and south were at the time of Domesday but half 

 cleared, and contained vast tracts of woodland. This is well 

 shown in the case of the southern parishes by their peculiar 

 shape. 



These parishes each have their village on the fertile belt, 

 and a long strip of woodland extending back to the Sussex 

 forests, the four present parishes on the clay being not mentioned 

 in Domesday, and created since. These manors yielded large 



